Wingspread Conference on the Precautionary Principle

The Wingspread Conference on the Precautionary Principle was a three-day academic conference where the precautionary principle was defined. The January 1998 meeting took place at Wingspread , headquarters of the Johnson Foundation in Racine, Wisconsin , and involved 35 scientists , lawyers , policy makers and environmentalists from the United States, Canada and Europe. [1] [2]

Background

Main article: Precautionary principle

The formal concept evolved out of the German socio-legal tradition in the 1930s, centering on the concept of good household management. [3] In German the concept is Vorsorgeprinzip , which translates into English as a precautionary principle .

Many of the concepts underpinning the precautionary principle pre-date the term’s inception. For example, the essence of the principle is captured in a cautionary aphorisms such as “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”, “better safe than sorry”, and “look before you leap”. [4] The precautionary principle may also be used in the evolution of the first principles of ” first, do no harm ” to apply to institutions and institutional decision-making processes rather than individuals.

Final statement

In the final text of the agreement, it was agreed that the precautionary principle could be

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When it comes to the effects of environmental hazards, it should be taken into account if it is not fully established scientifically. [5]

The members aussi Concluded That current environmental policies do not do enough to prevent prevention of environmental disasters INSTEAD controlling damage incident after-year.

Follow up committees

The February 2, 2000 European Commission Communication on the Precautionary Principle notes: “The precautionary principle of the place where the scientific evidence is inadequate, the inconclusive or uncertain , animal or plant health may be inconsistent with the high level of protection chosen by the EU “. [6]

The January 29, 2000 Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety says: “Lack of scientific certainty due to inadequate scientific information … will not prevent the Party of import, in order to avoid or reduce such potential adverse effects, from taking a decision, as appropriate, with regard to the import of the living modified organism in question. ”